


Earth and Wind

by rolystatz



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV), Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), The Lonely Island (Band)
Genre: Basically just glorified jormandy, Brooklyn 9 9, Jake Peralta x Owen Bouchard, Kid Brain, Kid Conner, Kid Contact, M/M, Style Boyz, jake x owen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 10:10:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9486665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rolystatz/pseuds/rolystatz
Summary: There's a crime committed against the pop-rap group, Style Boyz, while they're on tour in New York City.Being giant fans, Detectives Jake Peralta and Charles Boyle of the NYPD try not to lose their sh*t at the fact they're about to take on a Style Boyz case.The three best friends' (Style Boyz) day gets flipped on its head even further when they find one of the cops on their case is Kid Conner(one of the member)'s doppelganger.(Disclaimer: I may end up tweaking the timeline of the show to better fit this AU)





	1. Gallant Quest of Heroism

“JAKE!” Detective Charles Boyle yells from across the bullpen of the Ninety-Ninth precinct in Brooklyn . “Jake, Jake, Jake, Jakey, Jakey, Jakey, Jake, Jake, Jake, guess WHAT?!” he badgers as he approaches his partner's desk in a bustle.  
“Jesus, Boyle,” Detective Jake Peralta says, looking away from his paperwork to his adamant friend. “What? What is it?”  
“THE STYLE BOYZ ARE IN TOWN TONIGHT.”  
Jake jolts up from his office chair, shooting it out from beneath him with such force that it flies across the floor, hitting the nearest desk to his. “WHAT?”  
“AND…” Charles says and hesitates purposely to dangle the mystery over his best friend’s head a moment longer.  
“DAMMIT, CHARLES, WHAT IS IT?” Jake demands, animating his urgency with his arms.  
“AND- CAPTAIN HOLT ASSIGNED US TO WORK A THEFT THAT OCCURRED AT THEIR VENUE THIS MORNING!” Charles bursts out.  
“Don’t do this, Charles,” Jake says seriously with an unbelieving expression. He points at his partner with both index fingers and continues, “Don’t fuck with me like this.”  
“I. AM NOT. MESSING WITH YOU, JAKE.”  
The two look at each other knowingly as Charles celebrates by repeating saying, “I AM NOT!”  
Grins overtake both of their faces and they take the moment to thoroughly fanboy-out, complete with shrieking and jumping. After a brief moment, both find solid ground again while clearing their throats and straightening their respective jackets.  
“Okay, Charles,” Jake directs at him dramatically after taking a deep breath, “this is what we’ve trained for. We’ve overcome a lot of shit here together at the Nine Nine, and now it’s all coming to a head. Are you ready to partake on this gallant quest of heroism with me?”  
“Jacob. Peralta. I accept this heroic responsibility with vigor and enthusiasm. I am honored to share this opportunity with you,” Charles avows.  
“And I, you, we got this. We got this!” Jake cheers as he pumps his fist in the air.  
“Yes!” Charles says and mirrors Jake’s action.  
“Let’s get the file and roll,” Jake says, making for the Captain’s office.  
“Oh, Jake,” Charles stutters after suppressing hysterical laughter. “That was hilarious.”  
“The Style Boyz, huh?” Amy then says from behind her desk. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let me see that Donkey Roll, gentleman.”  
She deliberately clicks her mouse as the Style Boyz classic song began to pump out of her small speakers.  
Immediately, Jake and Charles began in the style of dance the Style Boyz had invented.  
They continue in that fashion until Captain Holt appeares beside Jake without warning, shoving the file in front of his face.  
“I trust you’ll handle this assignment with the utmost professionalism, Peralta. This is an extremely high-profile case,” Holt says to him calmly.  
Jake scoffs and grabs the file from him, “Obviously, Captain. Boyle. Let’s roll.”  
The two then stride out of the precinct without taking a single glance at the case file.


	2. The Heinous Crime Committed Against Kid Conner

Owen couldn’t be happier. He awoke the morning of the theft without a care in the world. His two childhood friends, Kid Conner & Kid Brain, had reconciled and all three were on tour together in their band, Style Boyz, like in the good old days. It didn’t take long for him to become accustomed to his old persona of Kid Contact for their Nationwide Tour. The group was booked to do forty cities in forty-four days and are on their last day, set to perform in New York City. For Owen, the whole experience is enough to wash away all the negative happenings of the disastrous release of Kid Conner’s second solo record a couple months prior.  
As life on the road slipped back into the familiarity of it, Owen couldn’t stop a persistent thought from entering his mind. For years, he’d tried to talk himself out of love with his best friend and bandmate, Conner, but to no avail. And this current situation of constant closeness both exhilarates and frightens him to his core. Between his heart and brain, he's deliberating the toil of whether or not to voice this love to Conner when he hears the news of what happened.  
“MAXIMUUUS TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” he hears Conner yell from their tour bus.  
Immediately, Owen runs from the open backstage area over to his hysterical friend a short distance away.  
“Yo, Conner, what is it? What about Max?” he asks him sweetly.  
“HE’S GOOOONE!” Conner cries loudly, hugging Maximus Two’s empty turtle tank.  
“Wh-?” Owen starts but loses his voice as his heart drops.  
Owen knows how important the baby turtle is to his best friend, and doesn’t want to see him go through the loss of another pet so shortly after Maximus (One)’s passing.  
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Owen wonders breathlessly. “Did you look, I dunno- Under the thing, or something?” he offers after a frustrated sigh.  
“He’s not in there, Owen, he’s gone, he’s gone, he’s gone forEVER,” Conner insists and drops to his knees in front of the tank with tears in his eyes.  
“Hey, no, Conner, that’s not true. Hang on a second, man,” Owen assures him.  
He gives Conner a quick pat on the shoulder and leaves the bus.  
“Hey, Jenna,” he calls to the stage manager when he finds her backstage. “There’s been a theft in our bus.”  
She gasps, “What? What was stolen?”  
“Well- Maybe it’s more of a kidnapping? I dunno. But, uh, Kid Conner’s turtle is gone,” he says.  
For a second, she just stares at him. Then with a single blink, she asks, “What?”  
“His… his brand new baby pet turtle is missing. He’s just gone and we need to find him,” Owen states, again.  
“What, and you’re- You’re serious?” Jenna says with a partial smile.  
“Come on,” Owen implores her quietly, giving her a look of disappointment. “Of course I am. I mean, can’t you hear his wailing?”  
Owen then points his finger behind him where the not-so-faint sound of Conner’s cries could be heard coming from.  
With a brief giggle, Jenna nods and says, “Alright, I’ll call the NYPD.”  
“Thank you, Jenna, thank you so much,” Owen beams at her, completely oblivious to the effect this interaction would have on his life forever.


	3. Maximus

Detectives Jake Peralta and Charles Boyle spent their car ride to the scene of the crime listening to old Style Boyz classics like, Rock, Roll, Skate, Karate Guy, and Donkey Roll, while singing along loudly. The excitement for both of them was enough to keep broad smiles on their faces the entire way there. Jake's heart beat wildly in his chest at the thought of meeting one of his favorite bands. Since a meeting a couple years ago with his then-hero (Crime Author, Jimmy Brogan) had gone awry and left Jake resenting the man, you'd think he'd be more apprehensive to meet the Style Boyz. But, those memories are tucked far back into Jake's mind at this time and he's focused solely on one thing: Not making a fool out of himself in front of the coolest pop-rap group in the world. His mind rolls through all the old trivia he used to know (and be quite proud of knowing) back in the day and reviews the information with Charles.  
“Names?” he says quickly, pointing to him in the passenger’s seat.  
“Easy, Kid Conner, Kid Contact, Kid Brain,” Charles answers with lightning speed.  
“Real names?”  
“Easy, again, Conner Friel, Owen Bouchard, Lawrence Dunne.”  
“First hit?”  
“Karate Guy, come on, Jake, give me a hard one!”  
“Okay- How ‘bout… The name of their turtle growing up?”  
Charles turns his entire torso along with his head as he looks at Jake. “What? A turtle? Uh, I have nO idea.”  
“It is: Maximus,” Jake recalls with a dreamy expression. “I always remembered that because I, too, had a pet turtle growing up,” he says as though performing a soliloquy. In a much more defeated tone, he adds, “His name wasn’t Maximus, though.”  
“Oh my God, Jake, that’s fantastic! You already have something in common with these guys!” Charles cheers and can’t help but squeeze his friend’s shoulder in excitement.  
Both are still jamming and laughing by the time they arrive at the venue. They exit the squad car simultaneously, trying to contain their squeals of giddiness.  
Jake clears his throat. "Showtime, Boyle," he says to his partner as he joins him at his side. "You ready?"  
"I was born ready, Jake," Charles responds resolutely.  
"Let's get to it, then," Jake says as they walk in through the venue front doors.  
"Detectives!" a woman with a clip-board calls as she walks up to greet them. "Pleasure to meet you, I'm Jenna," she says and extends her hand.  
"Hello, I am Detective Jake Peralta, and this is my partner, Detective Charles Boyle," he introduces sternly as he shakes her hand.  
Charles waves at her awkwardly until their handshake breaks, then shakes hers, too.  
"We're glad you're here. I'm sure you know the situation?" Jenna says.  
A wave of panic slams Jake's chest as he realizes he never reviewed the case file with Charles and had left it in the car. The two look at each other briefly with befuddlement, but feign knowing the details of the case.  
"Of course, we couldn't be more prepared," Jake lies with a cool expression.  
Jenna laughs once, "Alright, then, I'll take you to the scene of the 'crime'," Jenna says, putting air quotes around the word crime.  
She turns around to lead them to the tour bus as Jake and Charles look at each other quizzically.  
Jake shrugs at him. Then he breathes in deeply, taking a moment to straighten his hood and jacket once more before following behind Jenna and Charles.


	4. Not-Conner and Owen

Owen stands with his back against his tour bus, waiting. Shortly after the authorities were called, Lawrence and their manager, Harry, had left with Conner to take him out for some ice cream to help raise his spirits. He calmly awaits his friends' and manager's return, but is uncertain about the way the NYPD will handle their case. Worrying that everyone will take it as (not so) seriously as Jenna had, Owen brings his thumb to his lips and nervously bites on the nail.  
He’s lost in thought over Conner, and can’t shake the anxiety he feels over this crime committed against them. Just as he brings his eyes up to the open dock door of backstage, he sees Conner walking toward him with Jenna and an unfamiliar man.  
Wait, a second, Owen thinks to himself as he studies Conner further.  
“Conner? What are you wearing?” Owen asks without thinking, pushing himself off from the side of the bus.  
He approaches them, noticing that they all are looking at him with as confused of an expression as he has on his face.  
“What?” the man he thought was Conner says in a high-pitched, incredulous voice. “You think I’m- You think I’m Kid Conner?” he detects in a more serious tone but still with a goofy smile on his lips, gesturing broadly at himself.  
“What?” Owen mirrors the incredibly handsome man’s initial question and stares at him in bewilderment. The smile on Not-Conner’s lips steals the words right from his breath.  
“I am not, I’m not Kid Conner,” the man says, shaking his head, “I am... Kid Conner. Okay, no, I’m kidding, I’m not Kid Conner. Sorry, I just had to take the opportunity to say I was coz you said I look like him,” he rambles, looking to and away from Owen, and always moving his body in some way or another. “No, I’m Detective Jake, uh-” he says, grabbing the badge hanging low from his neck, “Jake Peralta, not Conner4Real, the, uh- Popstar.”  
“Yeah? Well, it's nice to meet you, Not-Conner,” Owen smiles at him.  
Suddenly, the two strangers become entangled in an intense stare, and both smiles on their faces fall a bit as they sigh from their respective distances.  
“Kid Contact,” Charles blurts out, interrupting Owen and Jake’s moment, “I’m sorry, can I call you Kid Contact?”  
“I mean,” Owen says to him, “It’s Owen. My name’s Owen. But, sure, call me whatever you like, Detective.”  
“Great,” Charles breathes out and Owen shoots Jake a quick look to say ‘Is this guy for real?’ and Jake responds with an ‘I know’ sort-of gesture. “So, Kid Contact, I’m Detective Charles Boyle,” Charles states, holding his badge up like Jake had. “And we’re here to solve the case of the heinous crime committed here today.”


	5. Not-Conner, Conner, and Owen

“Well, Officers,” Owen says meekly to the two NYPD Detectives in front of him. “Maximus Two was kept in his tank on the bus, if you want to check it out.”  
Jake and Charles look at each other in alarm, piecing together that the original Maximus had passed on, and now Maximus the Second has been kidnapped. Jake can’t help but gasp slightly and bring his hand to his chest in concern over the lost turtle. Charles subtly lifts his hand to Jake’s other wrist and brushes it to show his support.  
“Are you okay, Detective?” Owen asks Jake hesitantly.  
“Yes, I-” he starts and clears his throat, “I’m just anxious to see what we’ll find, that’s all.”  
“Oh,” Owen says, taking a moment to look at Jake in wonder.  
It appears as though he had been wrong to doubt the NYPD’s reaction to their case.  
A small smile turns up the corners of Owen’s lips as he watches Jake and Charles enter the bus ahead of him. As they do so, Owen’s phone buzzes in his pocket. He takes it out to see that he’d just received a text from Harry: Got the ice cream. We’re close.  
Owen reads it and wonders if he should mention anything to him about Jake Peralta’s uncanny resemblance to Conner before they arrive. The thought passes and he shrugs, returning his phone to his pocket after responding to Harry that the police had arrived. He then steps up into the bus as Jenna turns to continue setting up for tonight’s Style Boyz performance.

~

“How you holdin’ up back there, guys?” Harry asks into the rearview mirror that shows Conner is curled up in Lawrence’s arms in the backseat, absentmindedly eating ice cream from the carton.  
“Feelin’ better, now, right, Conner?” Lawrence responds optimistically.  
Conner sighs deeply, “Yeah, this ice cream’s okay, I guess.”  
Harry tweaks up one corner of his mouth in unease.  
“Don’t worry, Conner. We’ll find Maximus,” Harry says.  
“Maximus Two!” Conner corrects loudly.  
“Maximus Two,” Harry nods.  
They pull up into the backstage parking lot.  
“See? The police are already here,” Harry says happily, “I’m sure they’ll have answers for us in no time.”  
He exits the car to open the backdoor for them.  
“Ready?” Lawrence nudges Conner slightly.  
Conner takes another deep sigh, “No. But, let’s go.”  
Lawrence shimmies out of the car with Conner sticking to his side and leaving the ice cream behind. The three stand still for a moment outside of the bus, listening to the faint voices of the investigation inside.  
“If you can’t handle it, Conner, I’m more than happy to just go in there for you,” Lawrence suggests after noticing the pained expression on his friend’s face.  
“No, no,” Conner says lowly, “I’m alright, let’s do this.”  
Harry enters first, with Conner behind him and Lawrence at the end. They don’t immediately make it all the way up the stairs, as Harry halts abruptly, causing the two behind him to crash into each other. He gasps when Jake Peralta turns around to acknowledge the group.  
“What the-?!” he yells and incredulously whips around to make sure Conner is still behind him, and not magically transported into the center of the bus.  
“Harry, what the hell?” Conner says in a confused tone, not immediately noticing what it was Harry had seen.  
It’s at that moment he sees him.  
Conner’s breath hitches in his chest as a sensation slams him as though the wind was just knocked out of him. His eyes that had fallen upon one of the Detectives on his case makes him lose all objectivity. He’s never seen a human specimen so beautiful in his life. The sudden rush of passion he feels is completely foreign to him, as he’s never felt physical attraction for another male before. The feeling is enough to overtake the crushing sadness he’d been experiencing since Maximus Two’s disappearance.  
“Whoa- whaaaaaaat?” Conner can’t help but whisper.  
Harry budges and the three finally fully enter the bus.  
“Hey, guys,” Charles casually says to the group. “I’m Detective Charles Boyle and that’s my partner, Detective Jake Peralta.”  
They all respectively greet each other with ‘Hellos’ and introductions of their own.  
When Jake and Conner’s hands touch with a greeting handshake, Conner can’t even bring himself to speak his own name. His cheeks flush with a deep shade of red before taking his hand away. He doesn’t notice Owen watching this interaction with slightly slit eyes.  
Everyone in the room seems to realize just how similarly Jake and Conner resemble each other, except, of course, for Conner, himself.  
Jake decides to look past this and moves forward with the investigation.  
He clears his throat and addresses Conner, “So, uh, we’re very sorry to hear that your pet has been kidnapped. We promise to do everything in our power to bring him back safely.”  
“Thanks, bro. Er- Dude… Dude, bro,” Conner stammers, avoiding Jake’s eyes.  
Owen cocks his head to look at Conner suspiciously.  
Jake takes out his flip-notebook and poises his pen to take notes. “Can you remember the last time you saw Maximus Two in his tank?”  
“Mmmmm,” Conner hums, looking over at the cage. “It was around the time I woke up, so, like… 11 this morning.”  
“Then, what happened? Take us through your morning, step-by-step,” Charles interjects.  
“Well, I got up, said hey to Maximus Two, then left with the boys to get some breakfast. We came back and once I got back to the bus, I noticed he was missing,” Conner says solemnly.  
“Do you know of anyone who might want to hurt you?” Charles asks.  
“What? Oh, I dunno...” Conner starts and trails off.  
“Maybe a few. There are some Seal fans who still have it out for you,” Owen says.  
Jake and Charles stifle a laugh. They remember the debacle of Conner’s failed proposal attempt a couple months ago that ended with a wolf attacking the famous singer.  
“Alrighty, then, is there anyone else who might have had access to the bus while you were gone?” Jake inquires.  
“Uhm- Well, Harry was with us. And the only other person with a key would be the driver,” Conner explains.  
“Got it. Okay, Charles, you stay here and search for clues, I’m gonna track down that driver,” Jake directs and exits the bus.  
Owen watches Conner watching Jake leave, and an overwhelming sadness floods his heart. He can sense Conner's interest in Jake and he can't help but feel betrayed. But, he shrugs, swallowing this feeling for now, and turns his attention to Detective Boyle to see if there's anything else he needs help with for the investigation.


	6. Interview with a Bus Driver

Jake steps off from the Style Boyz’ tour bus with a puzzled expression on his face. He sighs, thinking about how oddly Conner acted toward him. Ever since Jake was young, he’s looked up to the Style Boyz, even though they’re all just about the same age as him. And when he was growing up, he had a crush on Owen and had never really noticed how much Conner and himself look like each other. A nervous sensation builds deep in his chest as his palms begin to sweat. He hopes that’s not the reason why Conner didn’t speak to him. He also hopes that Owen thinks he’s cool and not lame because of that Not-Conner joke he’d pulled out of his ass.  
Getting away from the intense crime scene, his mind clears a bit. He knows he should be focusing more on the case, but he can’t get Owen’s charming smile out of his head.   
Detective Peralta approaches the front of the bus where he sees a man standing against the hood, smoking a cigarette.   
“Hey, you the driver of this beast?” Jake asks him.  
“You got it. What can I do yeh for, Officer?” he answers and takes another drag from his cig.  
“Got the keys?”   
“Now, yeah. I’d leant ‘em out earlier,” the driver says.  
“Really? To who?” Jake inquires.  
“Jenna Morgan, the Stage Manager. Said she needed to get in there for something,” the bus driver says, grinding out his cigarette butt on his shoe heel.  
“Jenna?” Jake wonders aloud as he remembers how she’d put air-quotes around the word ‘crime’ when they had met.  
“Yeah, why?”  
“‘Cause Kid Conner’s turtle is missing,” Jake informs him.  
“No! You serious? Poor Maximus Two!” the driver shouts.  
“See, that’s a normal reaction to finding out someone’s pet’s been taken!” Jake yells, gesturing with his arms toward backstage where he thought Jenna might be.  
“Whatchya mean, Officer?” the man asks, lighting another cigarette.  
“Nothing. Thank you so much, sir,” Jake says and walks away from him, taking his phone out to call the Nine Nine.  
It rings twice and Terry picks up the receiving line, “Hello, this is Sergeant Terry Jeffords.”  
“Sarge, hey, it’s Jake. You busy?”  
“Not particularly, what can I do for you?” he says.  
“I need to you to run a name through the system, see if you can find anything for this Style Boyz case,” Jake requests. “The name is Jenna Morgan.”  
“You got it, Jake, I’ll call you if I find something on her.”  
“You’re the best, Terry,” Jake says with a smile and hangs up.


	7. Conner and Owen

“Is there anything else that was out of the ordinary today?” Charles says to Owen.  
“Well, I dunno… The only other thing I can think to mention is that Jenna chick, the Stage Manager? She seemed pretty apathetic about the whole thing and didn’t seem to want to get the police involved, at first,” Owen responds as he watches Conner forlornly gazing into Maximus Two’s empty tank.  
“Jenna, huh? Alright, Kid Contact, that’s great stuff. Thanks so much, I’m gonna go catch up with Jake to see what he was able to find out. We’ll be back soon,” Charles says to the group, patting Conner on the back quickly as he makes his way out.  
There’s a long, awkward silence that follows his exit. Harry, Lawrence, and Owen look from each other to Conner, who continues to stare at the tank.  
Owen breathes in deeply as a strange anxiety ripples through his chest and into his stomach.  
A bitterness bubbles up and he can’t stop himself from saying, “Harry, Lawrence… I need to speak with Conner, alone.”  
Lawrence and Harry exchange surprised expressions while Conner finally breaks his staring contest with the cage to look at Owen.  
“Sure, man, whatever you need,” Lawrence says. “We’ll just be outside.”  
Owen sighs as the two exit the bus, leaving him alone with Conner.  
“What’s going on with you?” Owen snaps, an uncontrollable nervousness causing his voice to tremble.  
“What? Nothing,” Conner answers too quickly.  
“Come on, man. I don’t wanna burst your bubble but it was hard not to notice how flustered you got around that Detective,” Owen persists.  
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Conner says defensively.  
The two glare at each other for a moment, until it’s broken by Owen’s scoff.  
“You know what, Conner? You’re unbelievable,” Owen accuses, “I’ve been able to read you like a book since the day we met. Hell, I- I’ve been struggling for a long time with my feelings toward you. I stuck with you through everything. Fucking everything, man. And, yes, I’ve forgiven you for that shit you pulled after CONNquest’s release, but this? Just- Don’t lie to me.”  
“Alright, fine!” Conner yells, “You’re right, you happy? Something about this Peralta guy is insanely attractive to me. I don’t know what it is about him, but…” Conner shrugs and says sharply, “Why the fuck do you care, anyway?”  
Owen breathes in and opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. A red shame creeps up and flushes his cheeks as he breaks eye contact with Conner.  
“Wait… Owen. D’you-?” Conner says softly and swallows hard, “Do you have feelings for me?”  
The lack of a response alerts Conner that his guess is correct.  
Conner wrings his hands together as a slight sense of anger washes through him.  
“What the fuck, man? Is that why you’re mad at me for having a crush on this guy?” Conner says in a caring and serious tone.  
Owen shrugs, unable to find the right words, at first. He knows he must be honest with himself and his lifelong best friend. He then confesses, “Yes. Yes, it is. I guess that makes me pretty selfish, doesn’t it?”  
Conner sighs and walks up to him. “Maybe a little. But, to be honest, I’ve never had feelings for a man before. I’m not sure it’s something I’d want to pursue… And, besides, I noticed Jake checking you out a couple times when you weren’t looking.”  
Owen brings his eyes to Conner’s with a cheerful look on his face, “Really?”  
“Yeah, the dude's not too discrete. But there’s definitely something there,” Conner says with a smile.  
“Well, that’s good… ‘Cause I dunno, man, I mean- It would be kinda weird for you to ask him out,” Owen admits.  
“What, why?” Conner asks.  
“Dude. He looks exactly like you,” Owen tells him.  
“What?!” Conner practically cries. He bends his body awkwardly to peer out the bus window at Jake, chatting with Charles, in the parking lot. “He does NOT… Oh, no, wait. Yeah, I see it. Damn! Am I really that huge of a narcissist?”  
Owen laughs at the bewilderment of his friend, “Do you really want me to answer that?”  
Conner chuckles and stands up straight, “No, no, I guess I don’t. Seriously, man. Thank you for always sticking with me and bringing us all together, again. I wouldn’t trade what we have for the world.”  
He embraces Owen and is unexpectedly met with a fierce pain of regret in his heart. Regret for ever having pushed him away. Regret for pushing him away, now, and into the arms of Jake Peralta. But Conner knew it would be better for the Good of the Style Boyz to never mix business with pleasure.


	8. Not-Conner and Charles

After Terry hangs up to track through Jenna's records, Jake lets out a sigh. He’s grateful for the help at the Nine Nine, but something just doesn’t feel right. He’s trying to disconnect his worry over Maximus Two’s disappearance from working the case, and Owen's presence isn’t helping that endeavor. Just thinking about him has Jake stood there in the open, stock still with his arm still halfway to his ear. Charles then appears beside him seemingly from nowhere.  
“Whoa,” Jake jolts gently backwards, holding his arms up slightly.  
“Jake. Kid Contact said something about Jenna, the one-”  
“Yeah, who put air-quotes around the word crime like it wasn’t a big deal. I thought that was weird, too. Jenna Morgan, I already called Terry, he should be calling us back soon,” he says smoothly.  
“That is fantastic news, Jake, I feel like we are onto something here,” Charles says with a gigantic smile on his face.  
Jake tries to act assured, but his body language gives his stress away to his friend and literal Partner in Crime.  
“Jakey,” Charles stands poised with his notebook of clues up in one hand and his other with a pen by his chest. “What’s wrong?” he asks, semi-forcefully.  
“Nothing, I’m just,” Jake says and sighs, “...worried about thissss stupid turtle right now.”  
Charles stares him down with a look that tells him he knows he’s not telling him the full truth.  
And to just fess up, buddy.  
Jake sighs.  
“It’s… Shit, I dunno. It’s a lot! That’s what. It’s all a lot and I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, here, Charles. I just don’t know-”  
“How to handle your feelings for Kid Contact?” Charles finishes his sentence for him.  
He looks at Charles incredulously and opens his mouth to protest. Right away, he closes it in reaction to a deep, internal feeling of pure terror mixed with elated adrenaline piercing his core. Basically gasping for air, Jake badly pretends like he was coughing already. Charles smirks slightly and briefly pats him on the back.  
“It was that obvious, huh?” Jake manages to say.  
“Come on, Jake, it’s Kid Contact. Of course you two are meant to be together," Charles bursts out enthusiastically. "Of course. OF COURSE, are you kidding me? Besides, that Not-Conner joke you made absolutely killed.”  
"You think so?" Jake says with a grimace.  
"Killed!" Charles cheers.  
Jake glances at him, unconvinced, but decides to take the compliment and move on.  
“Well, I dunno," he starts, "Growing up I always was like… I wanted to see more Kid Contact. But then Conner got so big and, yeah, they still toured together but, like, I missed seeing and hearing him, y’know? And now I get to see him here! In person!” Jake nearly yells, then lets out a frustrated groan. “I don’t know what to do!”  
“First of all, you need to take a deep breath,” Charles instructs, “Stop saying ‘like’ so much, and hold your head up high. You’re the best, Jake, and I know Kid Contact will see it, too,” Charles looks at Jake fondly.  
Jake follows the advice given and breathes in calming thoughts; like, the World’s Cutest Kitten just huggin’ a dog. He smiles resolutely at Charles.  
“Now, you might just be onto something here, my friend,” Jake jokes.


	9. Matthew and Jenna Morgan

Jake and Charles watch as Lawrence and Harry return to the parking lot from getting a drink backstage. At the same time, Owen exits the tour bus with Conner and they approach both parties standing nearby. Jake’s heart skips a beat when Owen appears by his side, completing the circle they all naturally formed in.  
“Any news yet, Officers?” Harry asks.  
“We have a lead that’s being looked into,” Charles quickly replies, “We should know something soon.”  
Jake is already finding it difficult to keep up with conversation, and he hasn’t even had to say anything yet. Owen’s presence beside him is enough to take away his years of focus training in the field. His palms begin to sweat as his heart beat, again, begins to climb; calming thoughts of cute kittens hugging dogs can only take one so far.  
“Thank you, guys, seriously,” Conner says seriously. “When I noticed Max Two was gone I thought I’d lost him forever. I know, I won’t get my hopes up too high, or whatever, but, yeah. Also, Jake, I think you’d look real good if you buzzed your hair with stripes on the side like mine,” he adds, chuckling and miming the action.  
The group laughs and Jake looks around almost wildly because he’s just way too emotionally compromised to be dealing with any of this right now. He can’t believe one of his favorite singers just gave him advice as a joke in reference to how similarly they look.  
Charles looks at Jake with a constructive eye. “That’s not bad advice, Jake,” he says sincerely.  
Now is Jake’s turn to chuckle as he responds, “Yeah, Boyle, I’ll think about it.”  
Suddenly, Jake’s phone begins to ring and he quickly answers it. He walks away from the circle, holding up his index finger to let them know he’ll be right back.  
“Sarge?” he says.  
“Jenna Morgan,” Terry begins immediately, “She came up clean apart from a single incident. About a decade ago she was detained and consequently removed after rushing the stage at a Seal concert here in New York.”  
“No shit,” Jake says, only partially surprised. “Was there any other name listed in that report?”  
“One, a Mister Matthew Morgan. Her brother.”  
Jake celebrates in his head upon possibly inching further toward Maximus Two. The feeling of needing to reunite him with his family before it’s too late courses through him.  
“Terry, you’re amazing and I love you,” he says too quick to think and hangs up.  
“Charles,” Jake calls and waves him over.  
Charles is quick to comply and he gives him the lowdown.  
“That was Terry, he said Jenna and her brother Matthew were once detained and kicked out of a Seal show ten years ago. It’s not much but if Owen’s right about Seal fans still being bitter about the Wolf Thing, it could be just what we need to lead us to Maximus Two.”  
“Wow, detained at a show?” Charles scoffs. “What type of crazy person would rush the stage at a concert like that?”  
Jake’s mind briefly flashes back to himself doing something quite similar at a Taylor Swift concert and receiving the same punishment received by their suspects.  
“Psh, I know right? Crazy...” he fake laughs and acts as though he agrees with Charles.  
It's then they notice Owen drawing near them, saying, “Excuse me, Detectives?”  
“Buh-uhmmm,” Charles says as though pretending to carry on a previous discussion with Jake, “So, thanks, Jake, I-I’ll go see if I can find Jenna.”  
“What?” Jake whispers nearly inaudibly to him, giving Charles wide-eyes in protest.  
Charles shoots Jake an expression of a stubborn matchmaker and walks off.  
Owen laughs nervously as Jake turns to him.  
“Sorry about that,” Jake says, seemingly unable to keep a smile off his lips. “What can I help you with?”  
“Well, I dunno really how to say this without sounding like a dick,” Owen starts, his body language portraying his awkwardness, “‘Cause I know you’re doing all you can, and showtime isn’t for another five hours, but it would really help Conner if we find Max before then. I just don’t think he’d be able to handle it if not and since this is our last show… I dunno, it just has to go well. It would look really bad if he had a meltdown or worse, if we had cancel. And I don’t want to pressure you or anything. Definitely not. I mean, this is New York, you probably have like 50 murders to solve.”  
“Close. Thirty-two,” Jake jokes.  
Owen smiles at him and stands a bit more naturally, “Exactly. But if we’re able to find him before tonight, it would really help us out. Y’know, especially in the long run.”  
“Don’t worry, Owen, I get where you’re coming from,” Jake says. “And, for the record, you don’t sound like a dick, you’re just trying to help your friend. That’s really cool of you.” Jake didn’t mean to compliment Owen but now that it happened he doesn’t know if he should be mad about it or not because Owen’s face instantly lights up with the most adorable grin he’s ever seen in his life.  
He decides not to be mad at himself about it and his own smile widens in response.  
“Thank you,” Owen breathes. “It’s just been so long since we’ve toured, even getting to each venue on time was a pain. The only reason we’re even here right now is because we were off yesterday and got in early so we could see the sights. I guess I see why that’s not usually something we’d do.”  
“Hey, I mean, I don’t know anything about being on the road, but don’t let this incident get a bad taste in your mouth about wanting to do whatever the hell you want on tour. Just because my precinct gets about three calls of muggings each day doesn’t mean I’m gonna leave my wallet at home. It might just get stolen there, too,” Jake explains with a smile still plastered on his face.  
Owen chortles in response, “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.” His tone changes from chipper to solemn as he breaks eye contact with Jake to look over at Conner and Lawrence, “Still, I can’t help but feel like this could’ve been avoided.”  
It breaks Jake’s heart a bit to see Owen blaming himself for the situation. He can’t stop himself from reaching out and taking hold of Owen’s shoulder.  
“As long as you didn’t kidnap Max, there is nothing to blame yourself for. We’ll find him.”  
The two look sweetly at each other for a long moment until Jake releases him.  
“Thanks, Detective," Owen nods, still smirking, as the spot on his shoulder where Jake's hand had been continues to burn.


	10. Cracked

Ninety Ninth Precinct  
4 Hours till Showtime

Jake Peralta watches Charles with Jenna in the interrogation room from behind the one-way glass. He'd found it difficult to remain composed during questioning, so he removed himself from the process. He stands with his arm crossed over his belly and one hand up to rest his chin on. A strange sickness creeps up his throat and with it comes a vicious anxiety. He glares at Jenna. She looks nervous. The sight helps his churning nerves, but nothing can reduce the rapid pace of his heart.  
Jake lets out an enormous sigh, and just as it escapes his lips, Rosa steps into the room. She stands next to him as he continues to stare through the glass.  
After standing for a minute, watching the interrogation, Rosa asks, “Got lucky with this crazed Seal fan, yeah?”  
“Yeah," Jake says glumly and sighs, again, "I hope so.”  
“Whoa, whaat,” Rosa draws out. “What is wrong with you?”  
“It’s this whole case. The missing turtle. Meeting the Style Boyz…”  
“Yeah, I get that, I always thought Conner was super hot,” Rosa says casually.  
“What?!” Jake gives her a disgusted look. “Ew, Rosa, no, don’t say ~that~. We look exactly alike.”  
“Really?” she says and pulls out her phone. A quick search later and she’s holding the phone right next to Jake’s face. She laughs, “Oh, shit, you’re right.”  
“I know, now, take it back,” Jake cringes and pushes the phone away.  
“Alright, I take it back. Then, the other cute one. He’s super hot, too. What’s his name?”  
Jake makes a noise in his throat to resemble the saying “I dunno.”  
“I knew something was wrong with you,” Rosa exclaims and hits Jake’s shoulder. “How could you not know his name? You’re working their case, man!”  
“Ow, okay, yes, fine, his name is Owen. Also known as Kid Contact. Yeah, he’s hot, or whatever.”  
“‘Or whatever’? Listen, Jake. No one knows this about me, so if you say anything about it passed this moment, I’ll beat your ass. But, the first time I had feelings for a girl, I was eight years old. Of course I know now that it's completely natural, but at the time, I was scared... Scared that my family might find out, scared to get my feelings hurt. I can tell you’re not just worried about the case. You’re worried to let the Boys down, and not just Conner. Liking someone new can be frustrating, but you just have to listen to your gut.”  
Jake looks at Rosa in bewilderment, “Rosa,” he starts.  
“Shut up, it looks like Charles is wrapping up,” she says and makes a quick exit.  
Directly after her departure, Charles enters.  
“Jake, you’re not gonna believe this,” he blurts, appearing to be on the verge of a breakthrough. “It turns out the entire debacle at the Seal show wasn’t even Jenna’s fault. It was all her brother, Matthew, he was the one to rush the stage. But, since they were there together, she got reprimanded, too.”  
“All very fascinating stuff, Charles, but can you please get to the point?” Jake urges.  
“Well, because of that glorious gem, we have cracked the case. She helped her brother kidnap the poor guy because she wanted to get back at Conner for what he did to Seal. Little did Matthew know that, when it came to facing jail time, she took revenge on him for getting her kicked out of the show all those years ago.”  
Jake’s heart soars as giddiness reaches his face. He gasps and grabs Charles at an arm’s length.  
“Are you fucking serious right now, Boyle?” he asks, unable to contain his ecstatic disbelief.  
“Serious as syphilis,” Charles responds with a quirky smirk.  
“Where is the tiny, unfortunate, helpless little bastard?”  
“Not far,” Charles says and after noticing Jake’s uncontrollable shaking, he adds, “I’ll drive.”

~~~  
Perp's House  
3.25 Hours till Showtime

"This is it," Charles says as he points at an innocent-looking, white ranch on the side of the road.  
Jake's palms sweat like they had the first time he was in the field.  
"You ready?" his partner asks him calmly.  
Jake nods and replies with a sly smile, "I was born ready."  
The two exit the car with lightning speed and approach the front door.  
Charles knocks loudly, calling out, "NYPD, open up!"  
After a moment of hearing shuffling inside the house, the door finally opens to reveal a large man.  
"Coppers," he snarls and spits at their feet. "What do you want?"  
"Oh, we're just looking for our old friend, Maximus Two, have you seen him?" Jake taunts with a satisfied look on his face.  
His eyes spread wide for a split-second, then in a quick motion, he bulldozes past Charles and bolts away from the house.  
"Freeze!" Jake yells and pulls out his gun as he gives pursuit.  
"Get him, Jake, I'll find Max!" Charles calls after him.  
"Freeze, asshole! I... said..." Jake grunts as he catches up to him, "FREEZE!"  
Jake kicks the back of Matthew's feet and he falls flat on his face.  
"Matthew Morgan," Jake pants with a snicker as he straddles his back to cuff him, "You are under arrest for the kidnapping of a defenseless and adorable baby turtle."


	11. Incredible

Matthew grumbles curses under his breath as Jake shoves him into the backseat of the squad, but he pays no heed to him. His attention is glued to the house, as Charles has yet to emerge with the lost pet. He slams the car door in Matthew’s angry face and waits. A few moments pass, then he sees Charles leaving the house with a tank in his arms. Jake’s throat hitches and he runs up to him.  
“He’s fine, Jake,” Charles assures with a grin on his face. “He’s alive!”  
“Oh, thank Jesus,” he pants and grabs his chest. “Maximus Two!” he cheers, “It is great to finally meet you.”  
Jake looks down at it with a relieved smile on his face as the small turtle curls up into itself.  
“Let’s get him back to the Style Boyz,” Charles says with care in his tone.  
“What, in that?” Jake points at the tank.  
“Yes, Jake, what else would we transport him in? He’s a turtle, not a tortoise, we can’t just put him in a box, he needs water,” Charles chatters.  
“I dunno, it’s just so big, we’ll have to put it in the back with Matthew,” Jake says as they walk up to the squad together.  
He shoots a disapproving look toward the backseat.  
“Yes, I know, he’ll be fine. Could you get the door for me, please?” Charles asks.  
Circling around to the other side, Jake opens the door for Charles to set the cage inside. Gently, Charles slides it in and they hit the road back to the Style Boyz concert venue.  
Jake is still riding shotgun, and he watches the backseat through the rear-view mirror.  
“Matthew, you better keep your hands away from him, or I swear to God-” Jake begins to threaten.  
“Jake,” Charles interjects. “He’s wearing handcuffs.”  
“Yeah, I still don’t trust him,” he grumbles with slit eyes.  
Charles chuckles lightly in response.  
On their way, the two are easily able to drop the perp off at the precinct. Rosa looks happy to book him as Jake promises to Matthew, “Oh, I’ll be seein you soon, ” before they leave.  
Once they're back in the car, Jake opts to spend the ride in the back to keep Maximus Two company.  
He sings a quiet, little song to him so that Charles can barely hear. “Oh, Maximus, you were lost, but now we’ve found you. You’re going home. You’re going home, now, sweet Maximus Two.”  
As he continues to hum, he stares into the tank, looking at Maximus Two with uncertainty. Yes, Jake feels relieved about solving the case to find this treasured pet. But not nearly as relieved as he had hoped. There was a rising swell of longing in his chest that he can't swallow. But then he hears Rosa in the back of his mind, telling him to just listen to his gut. He breathes out a single laugh, keeping his eyes locked on what he considers to be the Turtle of his Destiny for the rest of their journey back.  
With just under three hours to go until the Style Boyz take the stage, the two detectives that had cracked the case pull up into the backstage parking lot after being waved through by security.  
Both of them notice the Style Boyz standing outside with Harry, anxiously awaiting their return.  
“This is so exciting,” Charles squeals.  
Jake’s eyes fall on Owen through the backseat window, “You can say that, again,” he breathes in response.  
Charles parks directly in front of them. He’s the first to exit the vehicle, so he takes the opportunity to announce, “We found him.”  
Jake, then, exits the car in time to see their priceless reactions. Both Lawrence and Owen go to Conner’s side to hug him. Conner just laughs as tears flood his eyes.  
“Where is he?” Conner asks, his voice a mere whisper.  
Jake and Charles use teamwork to push/pull the turtle tank from the backseat and they present him with his pet, alive and well.  
“Max!” Conner says in a high-pitched tone.  
He reaches down and pulls the shaken-up turtle from his cage.  
“It’s really you!” he holds him close to his chest as Owen brings his hand to scratch the top of his shell. “Holy fuck,” Conner exclaims as tears roll down his cheeks. “Thank you guys, thank you so much! I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done if we couldn’t find him.”  
Owen’s eyes find Jake’s, and immediately Jake looks down in embarrassment and licks his lips.  
“It’s what we do, gentlemen,” Charles brags.  
They all chuckle with relief, and Harry claps Conner on the back.  
“Wow, I just have to say, you did incredible work today,” Harry says to Jake and Charles, wiping a tear from his eye. “I am absolutely blown away at how quickly you brought Maximus Two home. We have to insist that you stay for the show. It’s the least we can do.”  
Charles looks at Jake with a throat-catching gasp while Jake and Owen lock eyes. They grin at each other. A split second passes, and Owen darts his eyes away with the smile fading from his lips.  
Jake is taken aback, but nods at Harry. "We'd be happy to accept that offer, Harry. Thank you," he says, trying with all his might to keep his voice from trembling.  
"You guys, seriously, are amazing. This is amazing!" Lawrence cheers. "This is gonna be the best show of the tour, I can feel it in my bones!"  
"Hell yeah!" Charles agrees and High-Fives Lawrence.  
Conner and Owen nod, and lovingly look down on Maximus Two, safely tucked in Conner's arms.  
"Well, I'm gonna go put Maximus Two in his cozy home. And I swear I'm getting a lock on that fucker so this never happens again," Conner says and laughs.  
The group laughs, too, and Lawrence says, "Alright, man, I'll go with you."  
They turn to leave, and before Jake can even think, Charles asks, "Harry, could you show me where the vending machines are?"  
"Oh, we have better than that!" Harry boasts as him and Charles begin walking at a brisk pace toward backstage. “We have a whole spread of sandwiches and carrots and …” Harry’s voice fades as Owen and Jake are forced to come to terms with the fact that they really are alone together.  
Jake’s mind reels with too many sensations to comprehend. Uncaring of the red hot heat in his cheeks, he brings his eyes to Owen’s sweet-looking face.  
“Detective,” Owen says, but Jake cuts him off.  
“Please. Owen. Call me Jake.”  
Owen nods and chuckles nervously, glancing away. “But, no, it’s true,” he protests teasingly and again looks at him. “I dunno, I feel compelled to call you that. Because it's what you are. Detective. And a damn good one. I can’t even begin to say how grateful I am for this, Jake. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”  
“I-” Jake gasps out but stops himself in order to start again. “I mean, it’s been an honor. I dunno, I almost wanna call you Your Grace or something, this is amazing. You are so welcome, and I would say anytime but usually when I’m working it’s for a bummer reason.”  
The two laugh as they unwittingly move closer in proximity to each other.  
As Jake watches Owen with admiration, the same shadow of anxiety ripples through his face as it had before.  
“What is it?” he asks on instinct.  
To this, Owen gives a desperate sigh. For a long moment they stand there together, Jake with concern showing in his expression and Owen visibly struggling with his thoughts.  
“Fuck, alright,” Owen suddenly says under his breath. Deliberately, he lifts his eyes to meet with Jake’s and it all pours out, “It took a long time. A really long time. But recently I was finally able to be honest with myself and someone I care about before things between us went south. With that said, I need you to know something. I’ve been in love with Conner for years.”  
Jake swallows hard, but rejects the hint of jealously pricking in his brain and keeps his mind open.  
“Him and I have spent our entire lives together,” Owen continues quickly. “But I always knew that love would be unreciprocated. Now, though... Here ~you are. Detective Jake Peralta. Who even are you? You’re Conner, but you’re Not Conner. You’re the opposite of Conner. And I’ve never felt this way about anyone, not toward Conner, not toward anybody. And I don’t even know if you think it would be super weird of me to ask you out because of-”  
Before Jake has time to react to his gut, it brings him to step into Owen and interrupt him with a sweet kiss. He doesn’t know how, but it happened. And he couldn’t be more elated. His heart pounds in his chest, his ears and all around him.  
Surprise at first causes Owen to hesitate, but soon he leans into Jake and wraps his hand naturally around his neck. The kiss ends with both having to catch their breath, and Jake rests his forehead on his with a small smile on his face.  
“There. Now I did the super weird thing,” Jake offers. “Is it okay for you to ask me out?”  
Owen laughs with giddiness, “Yes, okay, you win. Will you go out with me?”  
“Mmm,” Jake purses his lips and looks around with false disinterest, but still holds Owen close. “Alright," he concedes with pretend hesitation, "But only if it’s after this Style Boyz concert I’m going to tonight.”  
Owen grins at him, then plants a quick kiss on Jake’s soft lips. Gratitude and infatuation for Not Conner swells through him as he replies, “Bet.”


End file.
